V8 muscle cars rumbled at the 2012 Leyburn Sprints

Graham Alexander in his Monaro.
A tyre-tearing shootout between popular V8 muscle cars from Australia’s racing heyday was a highlight of the 17th historic Leyburn Sprints on the Queensland Darling Downs at the weekend.
A 1971 Ford Falcon XY GT, 1968 Holden HT Monaro, 1967 Ford Mustang and a “ring-in” 1971 Ford Capri Perana raced against the clock qualifying-style on Leyburn’s 1.1-kilometre temporary around-the-houses course for the honour of fastest Pre-1972 Touring Car of more than 5.1 litres capacity.
About 190 historic, classic and modern cars representing 10 decades of motorsport took to the track in an annual celebration of the running of the 1949 Australian Grand Prix on a nearby wartime airstrip.
The V8 tourers were a highlight, recalling the late 1960s and early 1970s, when manufacturer-fuelled battles for the Bathurst 1000 every October spawned the development of special Falcon GT, Holden Monaro, Valiant Charger and Holden Torana versions.
Cars from that era are now among enthusiasts’ most coveted collectables and draw attention whenever they appear at historic events such as the Leyburn Sprints.
The Falcon GT of defending Leyburn class champion Jamie Chant, similar to the 1971 Bathurst-winning model but even more powerful with an 800-plus horsepower engine from the American NASCAR racing series, was a regular crowd favourite as it lay black strips of rubber off the starting line.
Its pedigree includes being guest-driven at past Leyburn Sprints by V8 Supercar personalities Dick Johnson, Mark Winterbottom, Tim Slade, Shane van Gisbergen, Alex Davison, James Moffat and Steve Johnson.
But the Toowoomba workshop operator Chant faced a strong challenge from Leyburn “rookie” Graham Alexander, who brought his Holden Monaro from Geelong, Victoria. The 500 HP Monaro is a regular in the national Touring Car Masters racing series for older cars, where its rivals include the Mustang of John Bowe and AMC Javelin of Jim Richards.
And although the 70-year-old Alexander was a Leyburn newcomer, he’s one of Australia’s most experienced racers, having won Bathurst and Sandown enduros for production sedans and finished as high as fifth in the torturous East African Safari rally.
Adding to the contest was the Mustang of Queenslander Bevan Reed and Capri Perana V8 of Victorian drivers Phil and Pam Walters. The Perana was built only in South Africa, where it enjoyed racing success similar to the Falcon GTs, but several examples have been bought later by Australian enthusiasts.
Organised by a community committee, the Leyburn Sprints benefit numerous local organisations and projects and, this year, also Ovarian Cancer Australia and RACQ Careflight Rescue.
Other attractions included a Shannons Show ’n’ Shine display on Sunday and a variety of market stalls and food outlets.